A Perfect Day (Un jour comme un autre), comedy-drama by Fernando León de Aranoa, based on the novel Dejarse Llover by Paula Farias, Spain, 2015, 106', VOSTF.
“A Perfect Day”, deals with the challenges and difficulties faced by a humanitarian NGO. The film presents in a tragi-comic way the journey of a group of volunteers on a mission in the middle of the war in Bosnia-Herzegovina.
People's mistrust, the rigidity of administrative rules, the inertia of international organisations or a feeling of powerlessness that clashes with the impulse of solidarity raises a question: How can we not give up the cause of others?
Persevering in one's commitment to others, despite the obstacles, is not self-evident, even when humanitarian activity is a profession or a means of building a career. Does altruism need encouragement, i.e. to be able to count on something in return, if not a certain reciprocity?
This debate invites us to reflect on the many ways in which the interdependent relationship of solidarity, a term and attitude that is particularly popular today, has changed, and to question the various related notions, such as that of "humanitarian". Finally , based on the testimonies of the public, the aim is to question the reasons behind the craze that solidarity still regularly arouses in society, even today, and the way in which it fertilises other attitudes to make them more egalitarian.
Speakers:
Irène Herrmann, historian, professor at the University of Geneva
Jean-François Berger, former delegate of ICRC, responsible for Yugoslavian Task Force
Bertrand Du Pasquier, ancien fonctionnaire et délégué au UNHCR, FDFA and ICRC
Ivar Petterson, president of the Association Solidarité Bosnie
François Ruegg, anthropologist, professor emeritus at the University of Fribourg, former Secretary General of the BICE
Debate moderator:
Renata Latała, historian, University of Geneva
Wednesday, 31 May 2023, 18:00, Cinelux
Entry: 6 CHF
Cinélux
Boulevard St. Georges 8
1205 Genève
Contact & organization:
Renata Latała, Department of General History (University of Geneva)